By Adam Starkey
Copyright metro
Are consoles becoming a niche? (Metro)
New data finds the average age of console players is rising, as the PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 continue to compete with mobile devices.
With sales slowing down and prices going up, there has been a growing concern around the future of video game consoles.
However, the reality of the situation is very complicated. The Nintendo Switch 2 has become the fastest-selling console ever, following its launch Meanwhile in June, Sony reported 124 million monthly active users across PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, an increase from 97 million reported the previous year.
Consoles are generating more revenue than ever, but this is likely due to the rising cost of hardware. In terms of unit sales, the PlayStation 5 is marginally behind the PlayStation 4, while the Xbox Series X/S is drastically behind the Xbox One – which was already well behind the Xbox 360.
If the picture seems muddled in terms of whether consoles are actually in trouble or not, new data has helped clarify a significant factor in their future: the average person who plays on a console is getting older.
According to US analytics firm Circana (via The Game Business), 18-24-year-olds only accounted for 3% of video game hardware purchases in the year ending July 2025. This is down 10% when compared to the same period ending July 2022.
To hammer the point home, the average age of console players in 2024 was 27.9 years old, a figure which has been on the rise since 2018, when it was 24.2 years old.
Will any console be as successful again as the Switch 2? (Nintendo)
The latter might be a small increase over a six-year span, but it’s notable when you measure it against the wealth bracket of who is buying consoles. According to the report, households in the US with a $100,000+ (£74,000+) income now make up 43% of video game hardware sales, a rise from 36% a few years prior.
According to data firm Ampere, teens and young adults are ‘still using consoles as much today as they were a few years back’, but there has been a moderate shift in the share of console players in the 25-44 age bracket, with higher numbers in the older age range.
While it’s important to remember this is US specific, it is one of the biggest video game markets in the world – so even when isolated, it represents a vast amount of the gaming audience worldwide. It’s also what most publishers make their plans around.
When combined, this suggests the video game console market is steering towards being a premium product for older, wealthier households. This makes sense considering young players today are mostly exposed to gaming first through a mobile devices, which are, for the most part, far more affordable than a PlayStation 5 or even a Nintendo Switch.
Along with mobile devices, there’s also the increased value of PCs. Many PlayStation 5 and Xbox console exclusives now also launch on PC, which in itself lessens the impetus to buy a console. But that coupled with the fact that you have to pay for online on consoles makes buying a PC more cost effective than ever.
Nintendo is an outlier in comparison, as people buy those consoles because of the exclusive games, which might, partially at least, explain why the Switch 2 has done so well so far.
It’s certainly a compelling insight into the changing console market, but the real test of this data might be the launch of the PlayStation 6 and the next Xbox, which are both expected in 2027.
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S generation has been an unfulfilled promise even five years later, so with the next set of consoles, we might see this sea change present itself in a more obvious way.
The future of Xbox looks dicey (Microsoft)
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